McGuinness and Murphy to appear on new tv Gaelic football documentary

Jim McGuinness and Michael Murphy are contributors to a new GAA documentary series which will be screened next month.

RTÉ and Crossing the Line Productions have announced details of Hell for Leather – The Story of Gaelic Football – a brand-new five-part series, delving into the role of Gaelic Football in the sporting, cultural and social history of modern Ireland.

Filmed in cinema-quality 4K, the series also features the final television interviews conducted with GAA icons Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Kerry’s Seán Murphy and Mick O’Dwyer, Dublin’s Jimmy Gray and Mayo’s John O’Mahony.

McGuinness is to feature in episode four, titled True Leaders, which will be aired on Monday, June 30, alongside Cora Staunton and Jack McCaffrey, who reveal the deep, personal sparks that ignited their passion for the game.

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Hell for Leather – The Story of Gaelic Football tells the story of a game born out of necessity, dreamt up by a nation in search of a social identity and an indigenous sport that could challenge the preeminence of foreign games. The game later took root in the northern counties and became a truly all-island proposition - a game of and for the Irish people. A sport with a presence in just about every village in Ireland, Gaelic football has a hugely important legacy - this is the story of that legacy.

The entire series consists of over 80 interviews conducted with, among others, Murphy, David Clifford, Jack McCaffery, Juliet Murphy, Shane Walsh, Brian Fenton, Mick O’Connell, Cora Staunton, Joe Brolly, Tony Hanahoe, Colm Cooper and Briege Corkery. It also features contributions from managers past and present - McGuinness, Padraic Joyce, Seán Boylan and Kevin McStay.

Produced by Crossing the Line Productions, the series was commissioned by RTÉ’s Head of Specialist Factual Content, Colm O’Callaghan and produced in partnership with Coimisiún na Meán and made with the support of incentives for filmmaking provided by the Government of Ireland and the generous sponsorship of Collen Construction.

Hell for Leather – The Story of Gaelic Football begins on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, begins on Monday, June 9 at 9.35pm.